After months of planning it’s finally time to go to the finish line and beyond for the Pixar-themed Springtime Surprise Weekend! Today we’ll take a look at the final details including the Expo, course maps and some discounts available for racers.
Expo
All runners MUST attend the Health & Fitness Expo at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports at least 1 day before their race to pick up bibs and t-shirts. This is where the (in)famous merchandise sale happens. For those new to the runDisney procedures, or if you’ve been away for a while, access to the merchandise shopping on the first day (Thursday, April 13) is by Virtual Queue only. You can join the Virual Queue in the My Disney Experience app if your are within 45 miles of Wide World of Sports. The Virtual Queue access opens at 8:30 a.m. (SHARP). Keep in mind that even if you’re on-the-spot with queue registration, your callback time might be several hours away. Normally we have seen some sort of merchandise preview by now, but so far that hasn’t turned up. When and if that happens, you can read about it here!
Expo hours:
- Thursday, April 13, 2023 | 10:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
- Friday, April 14, 2023 | 12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
- Saturday, April 15, 2023 | 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Courses
5K
The 5K course is pretty typical for what we have seen lately. From the back of the Epcot parking lot, it’s a skirt around the parking to the backstage park entrance between Mexico and Norway. Usually there is some quick character stop in the backstage area. Once in Epcot, we’ll take lap around the World Showcase Lagoon. I’m a little bummed the “Harmonious” barges have been dismantled, because they were a beautiful focal point in the dark during the Harmonious era. Oh well. Then it’s back through World Celebration and World Discovery to a backstage view of Cosmic Rewind, a choir, and the finish line!
10K
Again there’s nothing new or different about the 10K course this time around. Other than it being twice as long as the 5K and running in the opposite direction, you’ll see all the same things. Plus a bunch of highway.
You will get to see some backstage areas in World Nature and take a swing around the slippery Boardwalk. (Caution runners!!!)
There’s also a jog behind France that adds a little variety. Then it’s back into World Celebration for another look at all the contruction walls and stuff you can’t buy in the Creations Shop because it’s not open yet. The finish is the same as the other races, and just as welcome a sight!
10 Miler
I’ll just say it, I am not a fan of this course. Mostly for the reason that they have front-loaded all the fun in the first 5 miles and the last 5 miles are a whole lot of highway. Also, the very narrow stretch between the Studios and the Boardwalk is very early in the course, which is when congestion is at it’s worst. I would say don’t plan on doing any running here. It will be an epic bottleneck.
I would actually really like this course if we ran it in the reverse direction, but I don’t get to make the rules.
What I do like about it is that we get to spend more time in Hollywood Studios that some races. Appropriately, we get to sample all of Toy Story Land, so I’ll be looking forward to running through Andy’s back yard before tacking miles and miles of highway running.
Discounts
runDisney is inviting runners to “Race, then relax” at the Typoon Lagoon water park! Up to 4 members of the runner’s party will recieve a 50% discount at Typhoon Lagoon during race weekend. Here are the details:
- 50% off 1-Day Water Park Ticket valid 4/12/23 – 4/19/23. Ticket valid for seven days from the date of purchase.
- Purchase at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, runDisney Health & Fitness Expo, or at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park
- Runner must show race bib for visual validation. Check-In Pass will be accepted as validation on 4/12/23.
- Offer valid for runner and up to 3 guests.
Disney Springs: While it’s true that some merchants at Disney Springs have offered race weekend discounts in the past, there is no official notification in the event guide, so I can neither confirm nor deny that that is happening. That being said I know I saw an announcement that the Fabletics store at Disney Springs is offering a race weekend discount, but I can’t find that source right now. I’ll update this post when I find it. Bottom line though, if you need some athletic racewear, make sure to ask for the discount at Fabletics.
Questions?
All that being said you might have more questions. I can help! Drop me a comment and I’ll help you out.
Disney Park Runner 